Born on March 6 1928 in Blackburn, Lancashire to working class parents of Scots and Welsh ancestry, Stevenson is an extraordinary figure: a composer-pianist in the grand tradition who always worked with the highest ideals and fierce integrity. He composed nearly 500 piano pieces that are colorful and approachable.

American Record Guide, September/October 2013Ronald Stevenson wrote about 25 pieces collectively called L'Art Nouveau du Chant Applique au Piano, and his Society has published two volumes of them so far. The songs are by Coleridge-Taylor, Meyerbeer, Rachmaninoff, Ivor Novello, and others. Stevenson was inspired by Thalberg's cycle of the same title. They are more than mere transcriptions, of course, and are enjoyable and sometimes stunning. There are several other transcriptions: Bach ('Komm, Snsser Tod'), Mozart (Fantasy for Mechanical Organ, K 608; Romance from Piano Concerto 20), and Purcell (three grounds, a toccata, and 'Little Jazz Variations on the "New Scotch Tune"'. The last comes nowhere close to rewarding the curiosity provoked by the title.) They are enjoyable. The Mozart Fantasy is a straightforward transcription of what sounds like a conservative Baroque fantasy and fugue in the first half; the second part is more like the Wolfgang we know and love. 'Canonic Caprice on The Bat' is a humorous, schmaltzy Strauss romp that Horowitz would've turned into encore gold. The Thoughts on the Preludes of Chopin (one of which is a strange combination of Chopin with 'The Flight of the Bumble-Bee') and the Three Contrapuntal Studies on Chopin Waltzes are similar expansions and elaborations. Le Festin d'Alkan, a concerto for solo piano, is a bit like Sorabji. This release will be required for followers of Stevenson, of course, and listeners interested in Sorabji, Alkan, Busoni, et al., should consider it as well.

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Recording information: Haden-Freeman Concert Hall, Royal College of Music, Man.